If you want to see what croquet looks like at its highest level, this is the match to watch.

Cairo, 2013

The Golf Croquet World Championship final. Reg Bamford of South Africa against Ahmed Nasr of Egypt. Best of five games. They split the first four: Bamford won 7-5 and 7-6, Nasr won 7-3 and 7-4.

Everything came down to game five.

Nasr was playing in his home country, in front of his home crowd. Bamford was the reigning world number one, but he was the visitor here.

Why it matters

At this level, every shot counts. There's no margin for error. Miss by a centimetre and your opponent punishes you. Get position wrong and you're handing them the hoop.

What makes this match remarkable isn't just the stakes. It's the precision. Every approach shot, every clearance, every jump shot is calculated.

You don't need to understand every tactic to appreciate it. Just watch how deliberate each shot is. Watch how they set up positions and clear the balls.

Watch it yourself

The full match is on YouTube. It runs about 33 minutes.

What this shows

You don't need to play at this level. Most people never will. Social games, club days, friendly matches: that's croquet for most members, and it's satisfying enough.

But it's worth knowing the depth is there.

The game you're learning has layers. There's always something new to work on.

That's what keeps people playing for decades.